Hail Red, Hail White

My phone has the University of Houston fight song as the ringtone.  I was cooking dinner and I heard "Hail Red, Hail White" being sung along with a sweet guitar accompaniment.  She didn't know the rest (Hail Cougars!  Fight! Fight! Fight!), but I think we have a future Cougar on our hands.  Class of 2030! I love the end...no cameras...she's so over being photographed.

Play-doh Fun

Finley got a couple of sets of Play-doh for her 3rd birthday and has had a blast making all sorts of creations. She especially loves making sprinkles with the ice cream set. The only problem is that she hasn't figured out how to make the crank return to its starting position. So she needs assistance. And if her assitant is taking pictures instead of helping...you get a frustrated Finley!

Princess Play

Dressed like a princess, playing princess dolls...

Playground with Max

Finley and Max always have a blast playing together at the playground, especially going down the slide.  Too bad Finley tried to go down the spiral slide face first!  Luckily, she slowed down before she made it to the bottom and smashed her face up.  Finley now has an imaginary friend named Little Max.  He fits in her hand or in her pocket, he takes gymnastics with her, but not swim lessons and sometimes he is sick and has to go home, which I am not to sure where that is.  It is hysterical, today she refused to hold my hand because Little Max was in it, so she had to move him to her other hand.  Silly girl.

Just Like Mommy

Don't let the smiling face fool you, Finley was in tears this morning because she didn't want to wear jeans.  We have been hit with a cold snap (which in Houston means it has gotten into the 50s), so I wanted her in something warm to wear to school since they will be playing outside.  She hates jeans.  She was begging to wear a dress.  I don't think I wore jeans until high school, I hated them as well.  Maybe she will get used to them eventually.

Pretty Painter

Finley's school project this week was to decorate two puzzle pieces and put her picture inside of each one.  Her teacher said we could decorate them however we wanted to and of course Finley wanted to paint.  I had a little bit of watercolor paints left from her princess paint book, but it wasn't enough for Finley.  She wanted more paint.  I also had some finger paint in our art cabinet, but she doesn't like using it as finger paint...too messy for Miss F.  So she painted her puzzle pieces with finger paint and a brush.  They turned out really cute.

Finley has been obsessed with the Toy Story movies lately.  She loves them all.  If you have seen Toy Story 3, which features her prized toy garbage truck, you will get this.  This morning, she was gathering all her toys up "to donate to Sunny Side Daycare." So for about an hour, we gathered up toys and took them to the couch (aka Sunny Side Daycare.) The downside of this game is that every single toy we own was out in our living room. Not so fun to clean up.

Tap Dancing

Harlem Globetrotters

On Sunday, we took Finley to see the Harlem Globetrotters take on the Global Select for the World Championship. The show was fun to watch, though I was disappointed that Flight Time and Big Easy from the Amazing Race were not in the game. Maybe I will get to see them next time they come to town. Finley was laughing along with the crowd, dancing and eating lots of snacks.

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

I cannot believe Sydney is already one, time sure is flying!  Sydney had a fantastic party with hot dogs and cake, so Finley was a very happy camper.  And Finley had a blast jumping around in the bouncy house and playing on the swingset.  Aren't birthday parties the best?  Finley sure thinks so.

Let's All Go to the Auto Show!

Clifton took Finley to the Auto show yesterday.  Finley's favorite thing to do was climb all around the new cars.  Luckily, she had a partner in crime, Clifton's co-workers son Owen.

Videos from Vail

The first videos are from Beaver Creek, where Finley did some skiing and some tubing. The next ones are from Vail and the final video is her singing "Happy Birthday" to a polar bear in Vail. Vail had all these snow polar bears all throughout the town and Finley loved discovering them. Ignore my screechy voice!

Finley's First Snowman

The thing Finley was most excited about for our trip to Colorado was building a snowman.  When we arrived, there was very little snow.  Saturday afternoon, that all changed.  While Finley napped, a ton of snow was dumped from the sky.  In the first picture, notice my sad, snow covered rental car.  Let's hope it defrosts by Tuesday.  When Finley woke up from her nap, we headed straight outside to build a snowman.  Colorado snow is much different from the snow I grew up with in Maryland.  It isn't good snow making snow.  Heather helped by shoveling their driveway to get bigger piles of snow, but in the end, our snowman was tiny, but proud.  And Finley gave him a bow...hysterical.  It was impossible to get her to pose for a picture.  She was a machine in the snow, running from side to side, making snowballs, helping build the snowman and just enjoying the snow.  I am guessing she is going to ask her Daddy to move here to Colorado when we get home.  She isn't bothered by the cold in the least and LOVES the snow. We had to force her inside after playing in the dark for awhile. The sun was beginning to set when we first starting the building, but it had been dark for awhile once we finally got her back inside.

Snow Bunny

This post will be quick because we are getting ready to head out for dinner, but I wanted to post two adorable pictures of Finley today.  She had the absolute best time skiing today.  She did not want to leave.  We were on the mountain for over 4 hours and she was in heaven.  Clifton and I both prefer the sand and sun, but Miss Finley loves the snow.  She told me she likes it better here than Disneyworld.  That is high praise from this three year old.  We had to rent her the smallest size skis and boots that they had, which took a bit since the first two places didn't have anything small enough.  She did great in the beginners' area, she didn't have any fear at all.  Just pure love of the snow.  She even skiied down the mountain with Heather, she had a blast.  I skiied down too, so I can attest that it wasn't easy at all and I was scared out of my mind.

Visiting Auntie Hodder in Vail

Yesterday, Finley and I made the trip to Colorado to visit Auntie Hodder (aka my best friend Heather.)  We flew into Denver because plane tickets were $78 roundtrip (score!) and made the drive up to Vail last night.  the first part of the drive was awesome, the middle part was very slow, then I realized why.  ICE.  And lots of it.  It didn't last for too terribly long, but it did make for some nervous driving the rest of the trip.  We made it to Heather's house in time for a snack and then it was off to bed for Finley.  This morning we took a walk around her neighborhood to see snow, but there wasn't much to be seen.  We met one of Heather's friends out for Tumble Tots for the girls to play, then it was off to lunch with Heather's dad and his wife Mary.  Finley had mac n' cheese, so she was thrilled.  Then it began snowing...a lot of snow.  It is nearly pure white out there as I speak.  The plan is to go to Beaver Creek tomorrow morning to have Finley try to ski.  If that goes reasonably well, we will do some snow tubing.

A Visit to the Aquarium

Clifton had off work yesterday, so we took a family day at the Aquarium.  Finley has an annual pass for the Aquarium since her birthday party was held there.  And there are always BOGO coupons available.  So for $15.99, the three of us could ride as many rides as we liked and go through the exhibits.  We also had lunch at the restaurant, Finley is so taken with the fish.  She says the sting rays are smiling and the big fish are sad.  So cute!

While we were having lunch, the manager came over and gave Finley a coupon for a free carnival ride. Was he aware of her incredible aim? Turns out the booth operator wasn't scared either. Our coupon was supposed to get us 8 rings. She gave us a massive handful. Too bad Finley has great aim, but little arm strength. She had fun anyhow!

Finley Says

"Go Texans, beat the Ravens!"

Pretty Girl

With really chapped lips!  This doesn't bode well for our trip to Vail this coming weekend.  Anyone have any good chapped lips remedies?  I try to put Vaseline on them as often as possible, but I haven't noticed any improvement.

Disneyworld: Day Seven

Our last day at Disneyworld was spent at the Magic Kingdom.  Finley and I had a plane to catch that night, but it left for a great morning at the park riding all her favorites.  Disneyworld is such a magical place and I know how much fun she has there.  I remember going to Disneyworld (back when the only park was the Magic Kingdom) and riding Small World with my grandparents.  It really is the happiest place on earth and I am already counting the days until we can return...Grammy's birthday again?  Finley is already asking to eat in the castle again so she can make wishes.

Disneyworld: Day Six

Most of our second to last day at Disney was spent at Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom is a fantastic spot to meet characters and Finley's first request was to meet Mickey and Minnie when we arrived. So we headed over to that area and her wish was granted. After that we headed to Dinoland USA to ride the dinosaurs...again and again and again. We grabbed lunch then got to watch the amazing Finding Nemo show. Then it was over to the safari (with a couple rides of Expedition Everest thrown in) to see some animals. After the safari, we watched the Jammin Jungle Parade. Grammy and Grandad went to go find some tigers, while Finley and I went to meet some more characters. The funniest thing was that there was a speaker near one of the Christmas trees in that area. Finley thought the tree was singing to her and she danced! We headed back for a nap, then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to meet Minnie, Mickey, Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella. While we met the princesses, Grandad saved us a spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was a great last night in Disneyworld.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

Joe's birthday party was at Pump It Up again this year.  She had so much fun at his party last year and this year was the same.  And look how much Finley and Max have grown since two years ago.  There were bouncy houses, slides and obstacle courses that Finley was able to complete all on her own.  It is amazing how good she has gotten at things, a lot is owed to gymnastics.  There was delicious cake and pizza to be had and Finley was in heaven.  As per usual, Finley was the last to leave the table...she loves her cake and pizza!